Jamaica refuses to have received any bribe from Bin Hammam

Published: Friday, June 3, 2011, 14:02 [IST]

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Kingston, Jun 3: A couple of days in to the re-election of Sepp Blatter as the President of FIFA, and that too without any one left to contest him, the Jamaican Football Federation has come out with a statement denying allegations that it accepted bribe during a meeting with Mohamed Bin Hammamm, suspended president of the Asian Football Confederation.

It is worth recollecting that bin Hammam was to contest the presidential polls against Sepp Blatter, but withdrew his nomination after the allegations and was later suspended by the ethics body of the organisation after allegations surfaced that he had offered bribe to JFF to secure their vote for him.

In the statement, Horace Burrell, President of the JFF said, "Let me state categorically the JFF was not offered, neither received any funds prior to, during or after the CFU meetings held on May 10-11 in Trinidad."

Soon after, Edward Seaga, former Jamaica Prime Minister and now head of the Jamaica Premier League Clubs Association (PLCA), too issued a statement and said, "To restore the integrity of the region the present leaders of the CFU must call on all the federations which received and kept the $40,000 bribe to return it forthwith or face public disclosure of the identity of these Caribbean federations which are corrupt by holding the integrity of the region to ransom."

And added, "This act of corruption involves the reputation of the Caribbean football federations and has shamed the reputation of football, much to the great sorrow of lovers of the game and other well-thinking people."

Burell, who is the acting CFU president in the absence of the suspended Jack Warner, retorted back saying, "The statement appears to have tried, found guilty and pronounced sentence on an entire region's football associations despite the fact the competent authority to adjudicate these matters has come to no such conclusion. In fact FIFA's ethics committee is currently considering the matter and we await the final outcome of its investigation and due process."

He said, "Despite this public knowledge the PLCA's chairman has inexplicably sought to tarnish the reputations of at least 30 member associations of the CFU with what can only be described as reckless, unproven allegations and acts of corruption."

And further added, "The JFF calls for the PLCA chairman to either provide the public and indeed the FIFA ethics committee with any evidence he has to corroborate these allegations or cease to engage in this denigration of an entire region's reputation forthwith by withdrawing this release."

Meanwhile, the Puerto Rico Football Federation has confirmed to FIFA that it did receive the bribe money and has offered to pay it back.